“Obviously not, but that’s the best plan we’ve got.” Annoyance began to overtake Ariana’s positive tone.
“Sorry.” I let out a deep breath and slumped in my seat. “I shouldn’t be getting snippy with you. I know you’re giving us all you’ve got. It just feels so hopeless.”
Crystal put her arm around me. “We’re all hoping for the best, but we need to prepare ourselves in case things don’t work out.”
Tears welled in the corners of my eyes. I wasn’t ready to face the possibility that we might fail. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Lysander forever. But if Ariana was right and his spirit would eventually be used up, it would unleash the worst kind of evil back into the world. Many more would die. Lysander had willingly sacrificed himself, in the hopes of trapping Aniketos, so that we would survive. I couldn’t let that act go to waste because I wanted my boyfriend back.
I sniffled a little and wiped my eyes. “You’re right. We need to make peace with the wolves, and get the box back.”
CHAPTER 18
I tried to call Fallon multiple times during the day, but she didn’t answer. Finally, as desperation set in, I decided to leave her messages explaining our situation, what we thought might be happening with the crystal, and the fact that the Pandora’s Box would need to be unearthed. I thoughts surely those would grab her attention, but she didn’t respond to any of my calls nor return even a text message in response to the information I’d given her.
Was she mad, or was something going on? We’d had our fights in the past, and sure, there were plenty of times where we avoided talking for a few days, but this was too important to ignore. No! I couldn’t believe that she’d be so petty as to let a guy come between us. She was much more mature than that.
After making one more attempt to contact her, I threw my cell phone down in frustration. “Something is seriously wrong. We have to go back to the wolf preserve.”
“That would be suicide,” Drew said. “You saw how angry Connor was with us. No. We cannot go back until we know for sure it is safe.”
“That’s the point. I don’t think it is safe. I think the wolves are in trouble. Fallon would never ignore me for something this important. I don’t care how angry at me she is.”
One of Drew’s eyebrows arched sharply. “You’re willing to put the lives of six people at risk over a hunch?”
I didn’t like his tone. “I know my friend. This isn’t a hunch. Something happened up there.”
“Why don’t we try the others, Zuri or Ian, before we jump to any conclusions?” Crystal suggested. “Wake Ariana and have her call.”
She’d fallen asleep a few hours earlier, after we’d explained everything to the men taking the second watch. Though we were all exhausted, neither Crystal nor I got any sleep during the day. I walked to Ariana’s bedroom, just down a small hallway, and knocked a few times on her door.
A moment later a bleary-eyed Ariana greeted me.
I didn’t wait for her to speak. “Do you have Zuri or Ian’s cell numbers?”
She stared at me for a moment as if she didn’t know who I was, and then blinked a few times. “Phone’s on the counter in the kitchen. Gimme a few to splash some water on my face and I’ll be out in a minute.”
I didn’t think we’d get very far with calling the other vampires. Under normal circumstances, they’d be sleeping at this point, like we should’ve been doing. The sun was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds, but we were still at least an hour from sunset. My gut instincts were screaming,
Something is wrong!
I returned to the living room and spotted Ariana’s phone lying on the edge of the counter in the kitchen. “She’ll be out in a minute,” I said to the group as I made my way toward the small brick-style phone. It had a full keyboard instead of just number keys making it look like a mini computer compared to my little flip phone. I fumbled with the buttons, trying to locate her address book, and ended up calling Aiden by fortunate mistake.
His phone rang through to voicemail just as Fallon’s had. “Aiden, it’s Lyssa. I’m worried. Fallon hasn’t answered her phone all day, and we have some important information that concerns everyone. Please call us back either on Ariana’s phone or mine. You know the numbers. Thanks.”
I turned and walked back into the living room. “Aiden isn’t answering either. I’m telling you guys, something is wrong. We need to go back there and see for ourselves.”
“Alyssa might be right,” Santino stood and walked to the window to peek out of the makeshift curtains. He squinted, but didn’t shy away from the fading light of day. “Think about it. The full moon is over. There’s less protection at the wolf preserve. Many of the pack members would have gone home, leaving only a few. Those that remain might be weary from the nights of hunting and merrymaking. That would be an excellent time for any enemy to mount a strike against them.”
The cold and calculated way he spoke told me he’d been involved in plots like this. It was easy to forget what kind of a monster he’d been before he changed sides. I wondered how many times he’d hunted down others, like myself or the wolves. “That’s just the kind of ruthless behavior the Acta Sanctorum is known for having. Hit them while they’re weak,” I said, slamming my fist into my palm. “You know better than most, don’t you?”
“Precisely.” Santino nodded.
“If you both are correct, then we too would be walking into a trap if we chose to go back there,” Drew added somberly.
“Yes, but our friends are in there. We can’t turn a blind eye to their needs,” Crystal said. She turned to me and let out a sigh. “And, showing our willingness to help them in their time of need would go far to repair our strained relationship.”
“Yeah, I did sort of bring the problem to their doorstep. The least we can do is help with damage control.”
“You’re assuming we have anyone to help at all,” Nicholas said curtly. “No one’s answering. What if no one is alive?”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed aside thoughts of seeing my friends dead. “I’d hate to think that was true.”
“Wolves are resourceful,” Santino chimed in. “If for nothing else, I have to give them credit for their ability to adapt and overcome deadly situations.”
Though he spoke respectfully, I caught the hint of anger behind his voice. I knew he was not fond of the wolves, especially after what they had done to him. In all honesty, he had probably done worse to their kind, but the fact that he was still working toward helping us, and them, truly solidified in my mind that he was on our side and wanted to make up for past transgressions.
“I hope you’re right,” I said.
Santino’s voice softened. “Even when I was sent in to take care of the pack in Colorado, I couldn’t guarantee I had taken them all out. They’re crafty and have many places to hide. The Saints may have gotten a good majority of them—”
I sucked in a breath and winced at hearing that.
“—but you can bet there are still some out there. And they will need help if they’re being hunted.”
For the first time ever, I saw Crystal look directly at Santino without appearing as if she wanted to rip his throat out.
“Good to know,” she said. “Let’s get a move on then, shall we?”
Ariana appeared in the living room, looking much more awake and put together than she had when I’d woken her. “Where are we going now?”
“You’re staying here,” I said. “The rest of us are going back to the wolves to help hunt down the Saints.”
“Can’t I go with you?”
“Too dangerous,” Nicholas said.
“What about being left alone here, isn’t that dangerous too?”
“Good point. Someone should stay behind with you. Alyssa?” Nicholas said.
“No, Fallon is out there. I need to find her. I’m going.”
“I’ll stay and protect her,” Crystal said. “I can help with research too. Maybe while you are all gone, we can find a better solution to Lysander’s problem, and maybe separate the spirits in the stone.”
“Perfect!” I was glad she volunteered and happy she at least sounded like there was still hope of saving Lysander too.
“We’ve got good cloud coverage,” Santino said. “We can probably get on the road now if we wanted to. It would help to get a jumpstart on things. I doubt the Saints would expect a counter attack so soon, especially from vampires.”
“What are we waiting for, then?” I headed toward the door.
CHAPTER 19
Just as full darkness was descending on the forest, we pulled into a small clearing and parked the van. I recognized it as the same spot where the witches had held their moonlight ceremony.
“Why are we stopping here?” I asked.
Santino pushed open the driver’s side door. “This is far enough away for us to park but close enough to the wolf preserve that we can reach it on foot.”
My feet crunched in the snow as I stepped out of the van. Thankfully, it wasn’t snowing any longer, but the crispness of the air was still biting enough to be uncomfortable. I zipped my coat up high enough to cover my mouth and pulled the faux-fur-lined hood tight over my head.
“We all stick together, you hear?” Santino ordered. He too tightened his coat against the biting cold.
Knowing his past history, I wasn’t one to argue. You didn’t get the respected fear of being the Acta Sanctorum’s most notorious hunter without being good at what you do. But I wondered if the others’ egos would clash.
Nicholas and Drew silently exited the van as well.
“You sure it’s smart to leave the van unprotected like this?” I asked.
“We’ve got no choice. There was too much daylight when we left to attempt bringing Lysander’s coffin up to the apartment,” Nicholas responded. He turned to Santino. “We can’t leave the vehicle to sit unprotected for too long.”
I was glad to see Nicholas looking out for Lysander, but I still felt uncomfortable leaving him unprotected with the Saints roaming the forest.
“Understood,” Santino said with no hint of argument. “We will scout the area and if all is clear, we can return and drive it to a better spot. But for now, this spot is safe. It is well hidden, and no one is expecting us.”
“Let’s get moving then.” Drew closed the van door.
Santino closed his eyes and turned his head up to the sky. I’d seen Nicholas do this before. He sniffed the air like a bloodhound, and then crouched down and touched the frigid earth, as if searching for any clue as to which way to go.
“Follow me.” Santino didn’t wait for us to respond; he took off running.
I followed along with the other two.
Santino was fast. I found it hard to keep up. He darted in between trees and bounded over small bushes and fallen logs with ease. Meanwhile, I had to catch myself from slipping and sliding on icy patches of ground and try to avoid the low hanging tree branches clawing at my face.
He stopped suddenly, and I almost barreled straight into him. He held a hand up in a very military fashion, and I could only assume he meant for us to stand where we were.
Nicholas, it seemed, understood his signal. He nodded and waited while Santino took small, silent steps away from us.
The scent of blood wafted to my nose. Not human blood, though. This had a deeper, richer smell. It was earthy; the scent of werewolf blood. Though I knew it was the smell of our fallen pack members, the fact I hadn’t hunted in so long made it hard to ignore. The tantalizing scent tugged at my self control, and I had to fight the urge not to wander off after it. Elder vampires could hold out longer than I could, but even Drew looked tempted by the blood too. We all should have found a way to hunt before we’d come here.
“Wonder what’s taking Santino so long. What’s going on?” I whispered.
“Shh.” Drew shot me an angry glare. “Can’t you smell that? I think he’s found something.”
I mouthed the word “Sorry.”
Nicholas shook his head at me. Drew turned his attention in the direction Santino had walked. The same direction the scent of blood was coming from.
We stood in silence for what felt like forever, waiting, watching, hoping for something to happen. I hoped the source of the blood wasn’t one of our close friends. Then, just as my patience was wearing thin, Santino emerged from the darkness carrying a limp body in his arms.
“The Saints were here,” he said solemnly and set the dead man at our feet. “There are more body parts back there. This one is the only intact corpse.”
Through the matted hair and battle-worn face I recognized the dead man. My heart momentarily stopped and all of the air rushed out of my lungs.
“No,” I choked the word out. “Connor.”
His body was covered in the same series of wounds that Ian and Crystal had been given, but wolves don’t heal as fast as vampires do. He’d stood no chance against those mines.
Even though his blood called out to my inner beast, tears welled in my eyes. I never held a grudge against Connor. I respected him. We might have had our differences, but he was a good leader. Even when he kicked us off of his land, I knew, deep down, he was just doing it to protect his people. If only he’d let us stay, we could have helped to defend them.
My sadness quickly turned to worry. Fallon had remained at the preserve, as well as Ian. Zuri too would have most likely come back here when she got our message not to return home.
“What about the others?” I said, trying to keep my voice low; but panic still showed through. “Santino said there were other body parts lying out there in the woods. What if one of those were… No. I’m not going to entertain that thought. We have to find the others… alive. And make those Acta Sanctorum pieces of shit pay for what they did here.”
“We’ll get them back, Little Warrior,” Nicholas said, though his tone didn’t sound very convincing.
“We must be careful,” Santino said. “There are bound to be other traps. Whether they have been sprung or not, we don’t know.”
“What do we do about the body?” Drew asked with a heavy sigh.
Nicholas shrugged. “We do not have the luxury of time to deal with him right now. We’ll have to come back for him later.”
“He deserves a proper burial,” I said.
“Agreed.” Nicholas nodded. “That he does. And we will come back for him.” He gently folded Connor’s arms across his chest and dragged the body to rest between a small group of pine trees.